Behavioral and Cardiovascular Effects of a Behavioral Weight Loss Program for People Living with HIV

We recently reported that a 12-week internet weight loss program produced greater weight losses than education control in overweight/obese people living with HIV (PLWH) (4.4 kg vs 1.0 kg; p < 0.05). This manuscript presents the changes in diet, physical activity, behavioral strategies, and cardio-metabolic parameters. Participants (N = 40; 21 males, 19 females) were randomly assigned to an internet behavioral weight loss (WT LOSS) program or internet education control (CONTROL) and assessed before and after the 12-week program. Compared to CONTROL, the WT LOSS arm reported greater use of behavioral strategies, decreases in intake (− 681 kcal/day; p = 0.002), modest, non-significant, increases in daily steps (+ 1079 steps/day) and improvements on the Healthy Eating Index. There were no significant effects on cardio-metabolic parameters. The study suggests that a behavioral weight loss program increases the use of behavioral strategies and modestly improves dietary intake and physical activity in PLWH. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up are needed.

Clinical Trials Registration: NCT02421406.